


monsters running wild inside of me

by starrywrite



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Nightmares, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 09:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrywrite/pseuds/starrywrite
Summary: “Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them.” ― Veronica Roth





	monsters running wild inside of me

nancy had almost forgotten what it was like to be alone with jonathan. between the kids at school staring at them, mike and his friends always around, or their parents just being  _there_  it was as if the two were always destined for an audience. until tonight; nancy just about praised the lord when her parents told her they were going out for the evening and asked her to babysit (though their request was barely heard over mike protesting that he wasn't a baby). and though they did not explicitly say she wasn't to have anyone over, the moment they had left she called jonathan and asked if he wanted to come hang out. his timing was perfect; just as nancy finished putting holly to bed and sent mike up to his room (that kid had worse bags under his eyes than she did), he had arrived. 

"hi," she smiled, almost shyly at him as she let him in. there was something about jonathan that made her feel so calm and serene yet at the same time made her heart race. lucky for him, she always loved a good paradox. 

"hi," his smile matched hers and she pushed herself up on her toes to kiss his cheek. 

"so, you want to watch crappy television or something?" she asked, taking his hand and leading her towards the couch. it wasn't as if they wanted to be alone to do  _something_ ; just actually being alone, being without eyes on them or interruptions, was perfect. curled up on the couch in jonathan's arms just being  _nancy and jonathan_  was perfect. 

but, like anything -- and everything -- else, the moment of peace and happiness is short lived. as jonathan presses his lips to nancy's forehead, a scream rips through the night, the serenity shattered and terror takes it place. the two jump out of their skin but immediately jump up to their feet, running upstairs to the younger wheeler kids’ rooms. 

bursting through her bedroom door, nancy checks on holly, breathless and terrified at what she might find -- then relieved to see that the small blonde is fast asleep and buried under a pile of stuffed animals. safe and sound. but the screaming hadn’t ceased; cries for help and whimpers of " _no, no, please!_ " stab into nancy's chest like knives and quick as she can, she runs to her brother. 

the lights are on in mike's room, jonathan is at the edge of his bed talking to him while mike gasps for air, choking out, "stop it, stop it!" his eyes are clouded with tears and he's looking in jonathan's direction, but nancy can tell he isn't really seeing him. he's still in his own head, trapped in his nightmare. "mike! wake up!"   
  
“mike, it’s okay!” jonathan tries to console him over his hysteria. “you just had a nightmare, you’re okay!” he reaches out for him in attempt to pull him in close and hold him tight, a method that works to calm down will almost every time. but his extended arms towards mike only seem to scare him more.

“ _no_!” mike practically screams, pushing jonathan away while simultaneously backing away from him. “nancy!” he draws his knees up to his chest and hides his face, arms covering his head, and he cries, his sister’s name spilling from his lips in desperate pleas and sobs.

hearing her name like that -- as if she wasn't going to be there when mike opened his eyes -- broke something in her and nancy felt her breath stolen. "mike -" she cuts herself off to rush to her brother's side, climbing into his bed and crawling up to him to place her hands on his shoulders. he flinches at the contact, trying to shrink away even more. her voice shakes as she says, "mike, it's me. it's nancy," her words wobble as she fights back tears, hating how much pain her brother must be in, trapped inside his own head. "it's okay, i'm here." she pulls him forward, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him as tight as she can. it takes a while but mike relaxes in her arms, hiding his face against the crook of her neck, whimpering softly every now and again. nancy has one hand on the back of his head, her other rubbing soothing circles in his back, and she holds her brother close, whispering to him, "it's okay, i'm here." 

they stay like that until mike calms down enough that he's aware of just how humiliating this situation is and squirms away from nancy's embrace, wiping his face free of tears. "hey, it's okay," she whispers to him, musing his hair back. he's sweaty and still shaking and nancy can't bare the thought of leaving him like this. "you're okay, you just had a bad dream." mike just nods, but says nothing else about it, and nancy asks him, "do you want me to stay?" 

the teen glances at jonathan, still perched on the edge of his bed behind him, and thankfully, he takes the hint. "i was just leaving, actually," he says, and nancy takes that as a goodbye because just as quietly and quickly as he had arrived, he's gone. 

she can't even find it in her to be remotely disappointed that their evening turned out this way; even if jonathan had stayed, she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about mike all evening. she had never heard him sound so broken, so scared; the way he had cried out her name keeps playing in her mind like a song stuck in her head. 

"you want me to stay?" she asks again. mike licks his lips, opening his mouth then closing it again, unable to form words quite yet, and he just nods his head once again. she whispers, "okay," and lies down next to him, part of her suddenly so exhausted the second her head hits the pillows but part of her wide awake, still stuck in fight or flight mode. mike hesitates, but lies down as well, blanket pulled up to his chin, and nancy rubs his shoulder, murmuring softly, "you're okay, you're okay," over and over to him, less like a mantra and more like a lullaby. she doesn't know how long it takes for mike to fall asleep, but she lies awake by his side the rest of the night, just in case her brother needed her again. this time, she would make sure to be there. 

• • • 

nancy hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep since barb, her subconscious haunting her with her long gone best friend most of the time. the rest of the time, she couldn't shut her mind up long enough for her to peacefully doze off, only sleeping when exhaustion took over. so it only made sense that tonight was not going to be out of the ordinary. the only difference is, when she wakes up breathless and in a fit of panic, mike is on her mind.

she gasps as she starts awake and tries to calm herself down, but she's unable to shake the anxiety wrapped around her like a blanket. she can't stop hearing mike's voice crying out for her, weeping her name. she can't stop thinking about how she wasn't there, how she wasn't fast enough; how she couldn't save him when he needed her. 

the logical part of her that would remind her that it was just a dream, that it wasn't real, is silenced by the overwhelming fear that mike is in imminent danger right now and she isn't there -- again. she tries to convince herself that mike is fine but the voice in the back of her mind is screaming at her that he needs her and she isn't there, that she's failed as a sister, that she let him down.

a sob tears right through her and she throws her covers back, getting out of bed and running to mike's room the same way she had the night he had his nightmare. when she bursts into his room he jumps in surprise, and nancy doesn't even dwell on the fact that he's awake in the middle of the night because she all but weeps when she sees that he really is safe and okay. 

"what the hell?" he asks, not angry, just confused by nancy's impromptu visit and why she's crying. 

"i -" nancy pauses for a moment, catching her breath. now that she can see there isn't anything wrong with mike the way she had feared, she feels silly. embarrassed. she can't believe she had gotten so worked up over a nightmare and she can't bring herself to explain that to him. "sorry," is all she can say. she wipes her eyes in what she hopes is an inconspicuous way as she adds, "i was just... checking on you," hoping she doesn't sound as ridiculous as she feels. 

mike just looks at her for a moment. "i'm okay," he finally says. 

"why are you awake?" she asks, an attempt to get the focus off  of her for a moment. 

"couldn't sleep," mike shrugs, and a silence falls over the two, neither of them knowing what to say. "i'm really okay," he tells her after a beat. "you don't have to worry about me."

nancy smiles tiredly. "i always worry about you," she tells him. "i'm your sister, it's my job." mike rolls his eyes, but smiles as well. "get some sleep, asshole." she says, turning to leave, hesitating, then turning back around to add, "if you need me..."

"i know where your room is," mike replies when she trails off. a faint blush rises to his cheeks when he realizes that she hadn't forgotten about his nightmare not too long ago like he had hoped she would have. 

"yeah," she nods as well, the whole situation becoming even more awkward than it already was. nancy wishes it wasn't so awkward to tell her brother that she's there for him, or for her brother to feel like he needs his older sister. but she and mike don't do  _feelings_ \-- at least not like this. she loves him and she knows he loves her, but they certainly don't tell each other as much as they probably should. most of their feelings towards each other go unsaid and unspoken, unless they're sniping at each other or name calling. 

"thanks," mike blurts out, breaking yet another silence that had fallen over the two. "i mean. like whatever, i guess," he mumbles, trying to hide behind his 'i don't care' attitude, but the 'thanks' is all nancy needed to hear. she offers a smile, a silent  _i love you_  to him. and mike reciprocates, and nancy knows he's saying it back. 


End file.
